Vandalism costs society millions each year

Acts committed by young and old alike

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Each year vandalism causes the society millions euros. People of all ages from children to the elderly commit acts of vandalism in the form of destruction of property and destruction of the environment.
      According to a fresh study by the National Research Institute of Legal Policy, the number of acts of vandalism reported to the police has remained more or less constant for several years. This, however, is not the entire truth, for by no means all mischief gets reported. Small incidents of wilful damage often get fixed at the owner’s expense. Only the cases where compensation is sought from insurance companies get to the attention of the authorities.
     
The message from the entrepreneurs responsible for property maintenance in various parts of the country is that sabotage of this nature has become an everyday matter.
      A thrown stone breaks the stairway window of a residential building just as easily as the window of a commercial property. Door handles are twisted upside down, traffic signs are daubed or knocked over, street lights are stoned down, playground equipment gets smashed up, and the locks of residential buildings are broken in the dark of the night.
     
The bill accruing from the smashing-up of park benches, plants, or bus stop canopies is not small.
      The destruction of cars is on the increase while car thefts are becoming less frequent, presumably thanks to advances in vehicle immobiliser technologies.
      Up to 25,000 bicycles vanish each year. Fewer than half of the cases come to the attention of the police.
      In many cities stealing freshly planted flowers from public parks is a common form of vandalism committed by the elderly. Often the filched plants end up decorating the grave of a deceased relative.
      Graffiti and tags are a chapter all their own. The law states that graffiti art - no matter how skilfully done - is illegal. Removing drawings is anything but cheap.
     
Insurance companies spend EUR 25-30 million each year to compensate for damage caused by various forms of vandalism.
      Sabotage towards cars is also on the up. Through the so-called kasko insurance - motor vehicle insurance that basically offers a comprehensive cover against anything imaginable that can happen - damage worth EUR 5.9 million was compensated for in 2005. Last year the number of reported incidents was 12,000 and damage worth EUR 8.5 million was settled to policy-holders.
     
The cost of vandalism to different cities in Finland is almost impossible to estimate precisely, as the expenses are covered by many different departments. The cities resort to citing estimates. The capital Helsinki’s estimate is the highest: EUR 2 million.
      In Turku the cost of vandalism is estimated at EUR 300,000. In Oulu, the cost of sabotage directed against the city’s parks alone is in the region of EUR 100,000.
      The cities of Vaasa and Tampere reckon their yearly vandalism bills come in at EUR 280,000 and just over EUR 200,000 respectively.
      In most cases it is going to be the taxpayer who picks up the tab - whether it be EUR 15,000 for a new glass bus shelter or EUR 2,000 for a display window, EUR 1,500 for a park bench, or anything from 250 to 1,000 euros for a destryoed garbage container.
      Society's sanctions are fines or anything up to a prison term of two years.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Reports of vandalism on rail lines made almost daily (22.9.2008)
  Call for impartial evaluation of effectiveness of Helsinki´s “Stop the Scrawling” anti-graffiti campaign (17.9.2008)
  Deliberate damage to parks costs City of Helsinki millions every year (14.2.2008)

See also:
  Vandalism in Turku Castle less damaging than first feared (31.10.2008)

Helsingin Sanomat